Chapter Summaries

Wang Chaoyang tried to seize the Central Continent Dragon Cauldron with a great vow, but Xu Qingxiao returned and made forty-eight vows of his own, drawing support from Great Wei, the Immortal Sects, and the Buddhist Order. As a living Sage intervened, Xu Qingxiao revealed his Heaven and Earth Literary Palace and claimed to be the Great Sages’ teacher, a claim seemingly confirmed when the Great Sage Enming bowed to him.

• Wang Chaoyang made a vow for all under heaven to become like dragons and for wars to cease, seeking the Central Continent Dragon Cauldron, while the Female Emperor and Chen Zhengru opposed him.
• Xu Qingxiao returned to the Capital and spent nearly an hour making forty-eight great vows, but Heaven and Earth initially showed no response.
• The Female Emperor awakened the souls of Great Wei’s former emperors, and the Six Immortal Sects and Huijue pledged to help Xu Qingxiao fulfill his vows.
• Heaven and Earth began accepting Xu Qingxiao’s vows, but a living Sage appeared and declared him unworthy to wield the Dragon Cauldron.
• Xu Qingxiao summoned his own Heaven and Earth Literary Palace, called upon the Great Sages’ support, and declared that he was their teacher reincarnated.
• Wang Chaoyang accused Xu Qingxiao of lying, but the Great Sage Enming bowed to Xu Qingxiao and addressed him as Teacher.

Xu Qingxiao revealed that the Great Sage recognized him as his revered teacher, then used the power of his forty-eight Great Vows to reach First Rank in the Buddhist, Martial, and Immortal paths. After destroying Wang Chaoyang’s Heaven and Earth Literary Palace and defeating him, Xu Qingxiao began a wider reckoning, arriving at the Seven Stars Dao Sect to destroy it.

• The Great Sage’s phantom bowed to Xu Qingxiao and called him his teacher, silencing the scholars who had condemned his claim.
• Xu Qingxiao absorbed the golden dragons and reached First Rank in the Buddhist, Martial, and Immortal paths, but failed to break through to First Rank in the Confucian Dao.
• Xu Qingxiao used the Central Continent Dragon Cauldron to destroy Wang Chaoyang’s Heaven and Earth Literary Palace and capture its fragments.
• Xu Qingxiao crippled Wang Chaoyang and tried to learn who was behind him, but Wang Chaoyang refused to reveal the mastermind and died in the Golden Crow True Flame.
• Xu Qingxiao called on the hidden mastermind to show himself, then crossed ten thousand miles to the Seven Stars Dao Sect and announced that he would destroy it.

Xu Qingxiao attacked the Seven Stars Dao Sect to uncover the force behind its plots, then killed Daoist Qingjing after he refused to name the mastermind. He spared the sect’s disciples on condition that they abandon their cultivation, returned to Great Wei, and warned Tianzhu Temple that he would destroy the Buddhist kingdom if it failed to give him answers.

• Xu Qingxiao assaulted the Seven Stars Dao Sect and demanded that Daoist Qingjing reveal the mastermind behind its actions, but Daoist Qingjing blamed the Buddhist Order and denied that another force was involved.
• Daoist Qingjing fought Xu Qingxiao in the heavens using the Seven Stars True Martial Art, but Xu Qingxiao used the Central Continent Dragon Cauldron to withstand his sword strike and killed him with a fist seal.
• Xu Qingxiao spared the Seven Stars Dao Sect’s disciples after requiring them to cripple their cultivation, forget their immortal arts, and leave the sect.
• Xu Qingxiao returned to Great Wei and declared that he would visit the Western Continent in a few days and leave no Buddhist kingdom standing if Tianzhu Temple did not provide the answer he wanted.
• At Tianzhu Temple, Divine Monk Jialan agreed to prepare for the black-robed man’s plan, ordered the temple closed, and activated the Demon-Subduing Pestle.

After killing Daoist Qingjing and reaching First Rank, Xu Qingxiao weighed Great Wei’s danger from the Chuyuan and Tuxie Dynasties against the risks of searching for the Central Continent Immortal Treasury. Ji Ling agreed to let him go, and the chapter ended with two unknown figures appearing in a secret chamber inside Great Wei.

• Xu Qingxiao returned to court, where Ji Ling revealed that the Chuyuan and Tuxie Dynasties had demanded the Divine Martial Cannon in exchange for territory and other wealth.
• Xu Qingxiao warned the court that refusing the demand could lead to a war against the world, and Ji Ling postponed a decision while ordering officials to inventory the Barbarian Kingdom’s spoils.
• In private, Xu Qingxiao told Ji Ling that he had only one First-Rank Divine Martial Cannon and proposed searching for the Central Continent Immortal Treasury to find materials for more.
• Xu Qingxiao revealed that he needed to unify the world to suppress the demons and survive the Three Demon Mark; Ji Ling reluctantly agreed to give him time and let him take the Central Continent Dragon Cauldron.
• Xu Qingxiao planned to visit the Lesser Thunderclap Temple, concealed his departure as a period of cultivation, and warned Ji Ling to watch the Four Great Demon Domains and a hidden presence in Great Wei.
• Xu Qingxiao gave Daoist Qingjing’s heart and ninety-nine golden dragons of fortune to the Pill Deity Ancient Scripture to refine a First-Rank Realm-Breaking Pill, then went to Peach Blossom Nunnery; meanwhile, two figures appeared in a secret chamber in Great Wei.

Xu Qingxiao's enemies discussed using the Immortal Corpse to kill him and advance their plan to open the gate to immortality. At the Peach Blossom Nunnery, Xu Qingxiao confronted Luo Baiyi, suspecting she had planted the Three Demon Mark in him and belonged to the White Robe Sect.

• A prince told an old man that the Three Demon Mark would draw the Immortal Corpse to Xu Qingxiao and ensure his death.
• The old man revealed that he feared the Descendant of the Great Sage, while the prince said their plan and the Buddhist Order's preparations were ready.
• Xu Qingxiao visited Luo Baiyi at the Peach Blossom Nunnery, where she welcomed him and fed him.
• While Luo Baiyi massaged Xu Qingxiao, he asked about her illness, childhood, and origins in Shanlong Commandery.
• Xu Qingxiao asked Luo Baiyi when she had planted the Three Demon Mark in him, and concluded that she was a member of the White Robe Sect.

Xu Qingxiao confronted Luo Baiyi about planting the Three Demon Mark, then investigated the White Robe Sect’s hidden leadership and prepared to leave for the Central Continent Immortal Treasury. As he departed for the Western Continent, he learned that Luo Baiyi had taken her own life.

• Xu Qingxiao questioned Luo Baiyi, who admitted she had planted the Three Demon Mark under orders but refused to reveal the person behind her.
• Xu Qingxiao suspected the White Robe Sect’s Sect Master was a powerful figure within Great Wei and investigated imperial descendants, narrowing his suspects to several dozen.
• The Pill Deity Ancient Scripture finished a First-Rank Realm-Breaking Pill, and Xu Qingxiao gave it to Wu Ming after drawing the Demonic Qi from him.
• Xu Qingxiao asked Wu Ming to investigate the hidden imperial figure and remain in Great Wei while he went to the Central Continent Immortal Treasury.
• Xu Qingxiao set out for the Western Continent and the Lesser Thunderclap Temple, then learned that Luo Baiyi had taken her own life at the Peach Blossom Nunnery.

Xu Qingxiao mourned Luo Baiyi, learned that Prince Huaining had rejected a hidden conspirator and chosen to stand with him, then reached the Lesser Thunderclap Temple in the Western Continent. There, the dying Divine Monk Zhengxin revealed that a curse born from three million deaths had afflicted him, and Xu Qingxiao suspected it was connected to Pingqiu Prefecture.

• Xu Qingxiao visited Luo Baiyi's funeral, offered incense, and left for the Western Continent after speaking privately to her coffin.
• Ji Ling ordered Li Xian not to investigate Luo Baiyi's death or suppress the rumors surrounding it.
• A hidden man confronted Prince Huaining in prison, but Prince Huaining refused to rejoin his plan and said Xu Qingxiao did not know the man existed.
• Xu Qingxiao arrived at the Lesser Thunderclap Temple, where Abbot Yuanwu led him to the cave of the skeletal Divine Monk Zhengxin.
• Divine Monk Zhengxin told Xu Qingxiao that a curse born from three million human lives was draining his life, and Xu Qingxiao asked whether it was connected to Pingqiu Prefecture.

Xu Qingxiao learned that a hidden faction had fueled wars and blood sacrifices in an attempt to revive the Three Great Fiendish Gods, and that the coming Central Continent war could complete their scheme. After extending Divine Monk Zhengxin’s life, Xu Qingxiao entered the Central Continent Immortal Treasury to uncover its secrets.

• Divine Monk Zhengxin explained that three million people in Pingqiu Prefecture had been sacrificed because the conspirators still needed vengeful souls after the Northern Campaign.
• Zhengxin linked the hidden faction to wars across the realm and revealed that it had five high-ranking members, including figures in Great Wei, the Confucian Dao, the Buddhist Order, and the Immortal Sect.
• Xu Qingxiao and Zhengxin considered whether the two Confucian Sages were involved, but Zhengxin doubted that Sages would commit such atrocities.
• Zhengxin relayed the Martial Emperor’s warning to bring the Immortal Corpse to the Central Continent Immortal Treasury, then said Xu Qingxiao’s Three Demon Mark could likely suppress its dangers instead.
• Xu Qingxiao extended Zhengxin’s life by ten years, urged him to help pass down the Mahayana Buddhist Dharma, and warned the Female Emperor not to break with the Chuyuan Dynasty or Tuxie Dynasty before his return.
• Xu Qingxiao used the map and Central Continent Dragon Cauldron to open the immortal gate and entered the Central Continent Immortal Treasury.

Xu Qingxiao navigated the Central Continent Immortal Treasury and broke through a natural mountain formation, while the Female Emperor faced demands from the Tuxie and Chuyuan dynasties for the Divine Martial Cannon. The chapter ended with Xu Qingxiao discovering a mountain made entirely of supreme-grade spirit gold.

• Zhaoge told Xu Qingxiao that the last statue in the Heaven and Earth Literary Palace had revived and that he and the others would withdraw to recover their memories.
• Xu Qingxiao and the Pill Deity Ancient Scripture realized they were trapped in a natural mountain formation and searched for its Mountain King.
• The Tuxie and Chuyuan envoys demanded the Divine Martial Cannon, threatening war if Great Wei did not hand it over.
• The Female Emperor first offered to deliver the cannon in three months, then said she would give the envoys a definite answer in ten days and challenged them to declare war.
• After searching for the Mountain King, Xu Qingxiao sensed an unusual aura, destroyed a small mountain, and opened a passage through the formation.
• Xu Qingxiao entered a grotto-heaven and found a mountain made entirely of supreme-grade spirit gold.

Xu Qingxiao entered a grotto-heaven in the Central Continent Immortal Treasury and discovered vast stores of supreme-grade spirit gold and immortal gold. He reached a valley filled with ten thousand ancient nine-headed beasts, fled when they pursued him, and found their swarm blocking the cave exit.

• Xu Qingxiao spotted thousands of Blood Qilin Beasts and a mountain of supreme-grade spirit gold, then headed for the mountain despite the growing force suppressing his cultivation.
• Xu Qingxiao entered the mountain and mined immortal gold while the Pill Deity Ancient Scripture warned him about the dense demonic qi; he used the Central Continent Dragon Cauldron to suppress it and gathered roughly five thousand jin.
• Xu Qingxiao ventured deeper into the cave and found a valley containing ten thousand nine-headed ferocious beasts, which the Pill Deity Ancient Scripture identified as dangerous descendants of an ancient Demon God.
• The Pill Deity Ancient Scripture urged Xu Qingxiao to flee, and Xu Qingxiao ran as the beasts pursued him; one beast grew faster after biting off its own head and regrowing it.
• Xu Qingxiao escaped the cave but found thousands of nine-headed beasts waiting outside, blocking his way.

Xu Qingxiao used the Three Demon Mark to stop the Nine-Headed Fiend Beasts from hunting him and discovered that they would submit to his commands. He spent days collecting treasures and refining a vast supply of Realm-Breaking Pills before returning to the golden mountain to seek immortal gold.

• Xu Qingxiao fled the reviving Nine-Headed Fiend Beasts, which pursued him with formations and grew stronger as the chase continued.
• Xu Qingxiao revealed the Three Demon Mark, causing the fiend beasts to kneel and obey his order to return to their dwellings.
• Xu Qingxiao gathered spiritual herbs and other resources throughout the Central Continent Immortal Treasury while the Pill Deity Ancient Scripture refined them into Realm-Breaking Pills.
• The Pill Deity Ancient Scripture explained that the mass-produced pills had drawbacks, including weaker strength and shorter lifespans for those who used them.
• Xu Qingxiao chose not to explore the Immortal Treasury's deeper regions and entered the golden mountain again to seek its root of immortal gold.

Ji Ling agreed to share Third-Rank Divine Martial Cannons with the Tuxie and Chuyuan Dynasties, but their demands and sudden troop mobilizations brought the Central Continent to the brink of war. While Ji Ling ordered Great Wei to prepare for war without formally declaring it before Xu Qingxiao returned, Xu Qingxiao discovered that the Three Demon Mark could compel nine-headed beasts to fight to the death and transform into First Rank.

• Ji Ling agreed to exchange Third-Rank Divine Martial Cannons for resources, but rejected the princes’ demands for higher-ranked weapons and ordered Great Wei to prepare for war.
• The Tuxie and Chuyuan Dynasties mobilized their armies toward Great Wei’s borders, and Great Wei sent the Qilin Army, the Emperor’s Army, and the Great Wilderness Army to meet them.
• Chen Zhengru warned the court that Great Wei faced pressure from powers across the world, and Ji Ling forbade a formal war before Xu Qingxiao returned.
• Xu Qingxiao used the Three Demon Mark to command the nine-headed beasts in the Central Continent Immortal Treasury to fight one another to the death and transform into First Rank.

Xu Qingxiao organized the fiend beasts in the Central Continent Immortal Treasury while reconsidering who was behind the plots against Great Wei. After finding Sage Zhu’s true spirit wooden plaque, he discovered that someone had impersonated both Sage Zhu and himself, and Sage Zhu demonstrated that he was truly only a dying remnant.

• Xu Qingxiao used tens of thousands of fiend beasts to mine immortal gold, refine array formations, gather treasures, and advance toward building First-Rank Divine Martial Cannons.
• Xu Qingxiao reviewed the schemes that had pushed the world toward war and suspected Sage Zhu, the Fourth-Generation Sage, and others, but could not identify what felt wrong.
• Xu Qingxiao found Sage Zhu’s true spirit wooden plaque, contacted the dying Sage Zhu, and challenged him about the suspected blood sacrifice and deception.
• Sage Zhu swore he had not orchestrated the slaughter and explained that someone had used his True Intent and True Spirit to impersonate both him and Xu Qingxiao, while steering Xu Qingxiao toward false conclusions.
• Sage Zhu inferred that the impostor had stolen his remains and used his corpse to create the apparent Sage’s might; he then released overwhelming power to prove that he was genuinely Sage Zhu.

Xu Qingxiao learned Sage Zhu’s method for borrowing time from Heaven to attempt Sainthood, then immersed himself in Sage Zhu’s writings while Great Wei faced invasion from the Chuyuan Dynasty and Tuxie Dynasty. Ji Ling bought ten days to await Xu Qingxiao, but he did not return, leaving her to make her final choice at court.

• Sage Zhu told Xu Qingxiao that becoming a Sage could break the deadlock and taught him a method that offered twenty-four hours to comprehend Sage Intent, though using it before entering the Sage Realm would likely kill him.
• Xu Qingxiao chose to learn the method, and Sage Zhu passed on his lifetime’s insights before Xu Qingxiao began studying in seclusion.
• The Chuyuan Dynasty and Tuxie Dynasty invaded Great Wei with three hundred thousand troops each, and Chuyuan sacrificed one hundred thousand soldiers to seize a border city.
• Ji Ling rejected an immediate war and gave the dynasties ten days for Great Wei to decide whether to surrender the Divine Martial Cannon or fight; the dynasties withdrew after Great Wei refused to shorten the deadline.
• As the ten-day deadline passed, Xu Qingxiao remained absent, and Ji Ling appeared at morning court to make her final choice.

The Female Emperor traded Second-Rank Divine Martial Cannons to the Tuxie and Chuyuan dynasties for vast supplies, but their subsequent demand to study a First-Rank cannon reignited tensions. As Great Wei’s court urged war and the Female Emperor delayed for three months, Xu Qingxiao finally opened his eyes in the Central Continent Immortal Treasury.

• The Female Emperor offered the Tuxie and Chuyuan princes Second-Rank Divine Martial Cannons in exchange for the resources on Great Wei’s revised supply lists, and both princes agreed.
• Great Emperor Tuxie told his court that the Second-Rank cannon was a test and planned to press Great Wei for access to a First-Rank cannon if Tuxie could not develop one within three years.
• After the two dynasties delivered the supplies, Great Wei handed over the cannons, but ten days of study failed to show either dynasty how to make First-Rank cannons.
• The Tuxie and Chuyuan dynasties sent envoys and then princes to request a lease of a First-Rank Divine Martial Cannon, while Great Wei’s officials grew furious and called for war.
• The Female Emperor refused to declare war and postponed the decision for three months, leaving Great Wei’s officials confused.
• Xu Qingxiao opened his eyes in a valley in the Central Continent Immortal Treasury.

Xu Qingxiao discovered the Immortal Treasury’s history and prepared weapons and food for Great Wei while seeking a way out. He entered the Calamity Road despite the Pill Deity Ancient Scripture’s warnings, and the Scripture offered to reveal its identity if Xu Qingxiao left it behind.

• Xu Qingxiao woke after a month of meditation and learned that the Pill Deity Ancient Scripture had refined thousands of Realm-Breaking Pills and that the fierce beasts had forged many Divine Martial Cannons.
• Xu Qingxiao found fertile spirit rice, harvested more than ten thousand mu of rice ears, and stored them for planting across Great Wei.
• Xu Qingxiao studied the murals and learned that the Three Fierce Gods could be awakened through blood sacrifice to purge the world, while the Pill Deity Ancient Scripture recognized the descending immortal depicted there.
• Xu Qingxiao found the Calamity Gate, which sealed magical power and threatened heavenly punishment, but refused to wait ten years and returned to finish preparing the cannons.
• Xu Qingxiao completed fifteen hundred Divine Martial Cannons, two hundred Immortal Gold Cannons, and ten demon-subduing Celestial God Cannons, then ordered the fierce beasts to turn into embryos so no one could release them.
• Xu Qingxiao stepped onto the Calamity Road, and the Pill Deity Ancient Scripture asked to remain behind, offering to reveal its identity in exchange.

Xu Qingxiao learned that the Pill Deity Ancient Scripture was Wandering Daoist, a former First Rank cultivator who had opposed a plot to sacrifice all living beings. Wandering Daoist identified the Prince of Yongping and Hua Xingyun as two of the masterminds, leaving Xu Qingxiao to question what Hua Xingyun’s possession meant.

• Xu Qingxiao and Wandering Daoist swore oaths before Wandering Daoist revealed his identity and history.
• Wandering Daoist explained that four conspirators had ambushed him after he opposed their plan to use a blood sacrifice to reach the Transcendent Rank.
• Wandering Daoist said he had escaped into an Immortal Corpse, where he entered a Pill Furnace that needed pill refining to neutralize its yin power.
• Wandering Daoist identified the Prince of Yongping as the Great Wei mastermind and said Divine Monk Jialan’s master had been another conspirator.
• Wandering Daoist named Hua Xingyun as one of the Confucian Dao masterminds and revealed that he had been possessed.

Xu Qingxiao learned that Hua Xingyun and Sage Lü were the Confucian Dao’s hidden masterminds, then sealed the Wandering Daoist before entering the Calamity Gate and witnessing a future dominated by the Three Fierce Gods. He emerged from the Immortal Treasury as Great Wei faced public fury over its negotiations, and his return was announced to the Female Emperor and her officials.

• The Wandering Daoist identified Hua Xingyun and Sage Lü as the Confucian Dao’s representatives, and Xu Qingxiao questioned whether he was telling the truth.
• Xu Qingxiao sealed the Wandering Daoist in the valley for a hundred years, giving the savage beasts orders to guard him and stop any unauthorized rescue.
• Xu Qingxiao entered the Calamity Gate and saw a future of mass slaughter, blood sacrifice, and destruction brought by the Three Fierce Gods.
• Xu Qingxiao awoke from the vision, recognized that even becoming a sage would not prevent the Three Fierce Gods’ revival, and left through the teleportation array.
• In Great Wei, public anger grew over the Female Emperor’s negotiations with the Tuxie and Chuyuan Dynasties for the First-Rank Divine Martial Cannons.
• An official announced that the Pacification King had returned, and Ji Ling stood up in delight.

Xu Qingxiao returned to Great Wei and proposed giving the Tuxie and Chuyuan Dynasties First-Rank Divine Martial Cannons in exchange for harsh concessions. He revealed that he had secretly refined five hundred cannons and planned to make the two dynasties sign an agreement before staging a military parade.

• The Female Emperor and her officials discussed the two dynasties' demands for First-Rank Divine Martial Cannons as popular resentment grew.
• Xu Qingxiao returned to the capital, entered the Great Hall, and proposed giving the cannons to Tuxie and Chuyuan rather than going to war.
• Xu Qingxiao asked the Female Emperor to dismiss all but the Six Ministries' ministers and the Nine Dukes, then revealed he had refined five hundred Divine Martial Cannons.
• Xu Qingxiao manifested fifty cannons in the hall and explained that Great Wei could use the gift to secure territory and favorable trade terms from the two dynasties.
• When the Duke of An asked how Xu Qingxiao would make the dynasties comply, Xu Qingxiao answered that they would hold a military parade.

Xu Qingxiao secured the Female Emperor’s support for a military parade intended to deter the Tuxie and Chuyuan Dynasties while he dealt with the plotters seeking to revive the Three Fierce Gods. After revealing his suspicions and outlining his preparations, he went to the Heavenly Prison to speak with Prince Huaining, ending with a question about whether the prince still wanted to keep winning.

• Xu Qingxiao proposed a military parade displaying Great Wei’s Divine Martial Cannons, and the Female Emperor ordered the Six Ministries to prepare it.
• Xu Qingxiao obtained command of the Five Great Military Camps so he could strengthen Great Wei’s soldiers with Realm-Breaking Pills.
• Xu Qingxiao identified the Prince of Yongping and Hua Xingyun as suspects, explained the other plotters’ fates, and urged the Female Emperor to prevent war while he pursued them.
• Xu Qingxiao revealed that Great Wei possessed 1,500 Divine Martial Cannons, 200 Immortal Gold Cannons, and 10 Celestial God Cannons, and planned to demonstrate their power by flattening the Demon Domain Sea.
• Xu Qingxiao left the Great Hall and went to the Heavenly Prison, where he found Ji Yuan and then visited Prince Huaining.
• Prince Huaining said he would reveal nothing, but Xu Qingxiao asked him, “Your Highness, do you still want to keep winning?”